Inspire
by VikkiHeat
Summary: Kate/Rick. It has been three years since Beckett last saw Castle, but a murder at a bookshop where he is signing his newest novel brings them back together. Can they rebuild their old partnership and who is the mysterious Amber Starr? Future fic.
1. Reunited

**Inspire**

_Help me find a way to move on_

_Standing in the way of the sun_

_Now who inspires you?_

Inspire – Cave In.

Summary: Kate/Rick. It has been three years since Beckett last saw Castle, but a murder at a bookshop where he is signing his newest novel brings them back together. Can they rebuild their old partnership and who is the mysterious Amber Starr? Future fic.

_Firstly, thanks for the reviews on my story 'The Start of Us', I hope you like this one as much. My Castle plot bunny is back with a vengeance this week and keeps demanding me to write! This would be great if I wasn't supposed to be revising for exams! As always, reviews are loved. Enjoy. Vikki xx._

_PS. Castle doesn't not belong to me. If it was Castle and Beckett would have been together months and months ago! All typos are my own, it's late here, okay! (That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!) _

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><p><strong>Chapter One:<strong>

Winter was beginning to take her hold over New York with the first snow of the season coating the city like a layer of icing sugar. Running late, Detective Katherine Beckett was rummaging through her closet looking for her winter boots that she had stowed away in their back in April. It was a closet that she rarely used and was full of all sorts of junk she had accumulated. She found one of the boots and blew dust from it and went back to rooting through the junk for the other. She spied the boot's missing pair and reaching for it, knocking over a pile of odds and ends in the process. She groaned, grabbing hold of the boot tightly to free it from its prison of books, notepads and photograph albums. She finally pulled it out, bringing with it a ratty looking copy of Storm Fall, which she had purchased from a thrift store not long after her apartment had been ruined.

Seeing the book, emblazoned with 'Richard Castle' on the front brought up many feelings in Kate; many feelings that she thought she had long moved on from. It had been three years since they had gone their separate ways, but sometimes she did still miss him. Occasionally, she would expect him to make some ridiculous and inappropriate comment at a crime scene, but when she looked around he was no longer there. She still received birthday and Christmas cards from him, but they were impersonal, probably sent out by some lackey at the publishing company.

She threw the book back into the closet, where it the back panel with a resounding and somewhat satisfying thud. She wished throwing her feelings for him away could be so easy. Trying to forget about Rick Castle, she struggled into her boots and left the apartment with no idea what today would hold for her and how it would change her life.

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><p>In the back room of a Manhattan book store, Richard Castle was flexing his hand, preparing to sign hundreds of books in the next few hours. His newest book, 'Starr Crossed', had gone on sale just the week before so he was hoping for a good turnout this week. People still brought along copies of Derrick Storm books, even though he had killed that character off years earlier, and his short lived series of Nikki Heat novels. He wished people wouldn't bring along those though. Opening the cover and seeing the dedications to Kate Beckett and his old friends at the precinct made the rush of the book signing itself seem bitter. After three years, he still wasn't sure quite what had happened to sour his relationship with Beckett so permanently. He missed her, and he missed writing about Nikki Heat too. At least he had Amber Starr to focus his attention on now.<p>

Castle, lost in thoughts about the past and the present, sat bolt upright when he heard a scream coming from nearby. He jumped out of his seat, nearly knocking over his glass of water in the process. He stepped out into the corridor looking for a member of staff or someone from his publishing team, but the area was completely vacated. The scream was followed by a sobbing noise and the moaning of "Oh no, Andy, no, no..."

Castle followed the sound, not thinking about the danger that might befall him. All of those years working side by side with Beckett and he would still walk blindly into a dangerous situation.

He knocked cautiously on the door. "Hello? Is everything alright in there?" He asked, beginning wish he was armed with more than just a Sharpie pen in his shirt pocket.

He pushed the door open to find a petite blonde woman, who couldn't have been more than twenty two, kneeling on the floor beside a man. Castle couldn't make out his features but the pool of red blood slowly seeping into the thin carpet was far too much for a person to live without.

"Is he...dead?" Castle asked the girl, knowing it was foolish.

She turned around to face him, tears shining in her bright blue eyes and running down her cheeks, leaving tracks of mascara in their wake. She nodded weakly.

Castle was already pulling his cell phone from his pocket and dialling the police, but someone had beaten him to it. The previously empty corridor was now flooded with book store staff, members of Castle's publishing team and cops both in uniform and plain clothes.

"Move out of the way, please!" He heard a familiar male voice call, and gradually the sea of gawkers began to part.

"Detectives Beckett and Ryan." A woman said making Castle's heart feel like it had shocked by a defibrillator. "Turn around please, sir."

Slowly, Castle turned in a circle, moving away from the doorway of the room where Andrew Carson had breathed his last breath.

"Castle!" Kate exclaimed, turning quickly away from him before he could read the expression in her eyes and on her face. She moved away to look into the room at the body and the grieving form of Ellie Dales.

Kevin Ryan stood in front of Castle, his blue eyes shooting icy daggers at the taller man.

"You'd better have a good explanation for all this, Castle." He said, his tone clipped. Castle wasn't convinced that Ryan was referring to the situation they were now in, he and Esposito had always been very protective of Kate. Castle had to stop himself asking how Esposito was doing and if he and Lanie had finally married, but he knew this wasn't the right time, nor the right place.

Kate stepped back out of the room and Ryan seemed to relax his stance. The two detectives stepped to one side to confer, letting the crime scene technicians and medical examiner into the room. Castle noticed that the ME assigned to the case was in fact Lanie Parrish, and he smiled in her direction but all she did was glare pointedly in response. He did notice, however, that a shiny silver band glistened from the fourth finger of her left hand.

Beckett and Ryan came back to him again.

"We'll need you to come to the precinct to answer some questions." Beckett said, her eyes focusing on a point somewhere over his right shoulder.

"But I've got a book signing to do in twenty minutes."

"We're not asking you to come with us, we're _telling _you." Beckett reiterated, finally meeting his eyes. Castle was saddened to see her brown eyes narrowed with something that looked a little like hatred. How had he let things get so bad between them?

Ryan, looking uncomfortable, went to talk to Ellie. Something in the way he talked to the young woman and reassured made him wonder if perhaps Kevin Ryan was now a father.

"Okay, fine." Castle shrugged. "I don't have anything to hide."

He followed Beckett, Ryan and Ellie out of the book store and into their unmarked cars. It had been a long time since he had ridden in a cop car with Beckett, but this was not the way he had imagined it. Then again, nothing that he had happened between them had gone the way he had hoped it would. Maybe this was fate or destiny, or whatever, giving them a second chance. But the way that Kate was looking at him in the rear-view mirror wasn't giving him an awful lot of hope.

_Hope you enjoyed. :)_


	2. Interrogated

Inspire  
><span>Chapter 2<span>

_Thanks for the reviews on the first chapter, it means a lot! Sorry for the delay in updating, I've been away in London and revising like crazy for my uni exams. Hopefully I'll get more writing done soon!_

_I thought I'd update this today to distract you from the Castle finale for a bit. That was dramatic, wasn't it? Bring on September!_

_Reviews are loved. Hope you like the chapter! xx_

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><p>Castle found himself in an interview room that had not changed at all in three years, except the need to crack a window or invest in an air freshener was greater than ever. He idly wondered if people had ever confessed to a crime they didn't commit just to escape the overwhelming stench. It was a concept he could use in his next novel he decided, closing his eyes to try and imagine if it was something that Amber Starr might say.<p>

His eyes flew open again as the door was slammed none too quietly, as Detective Beckett entered the room. Castle was a little surprised that Captain Montgomery had allowed her to interview him alone, considering their history. Maybe Montgomery wasn't even Beckett's boss anymore. A lot could change in three years and that was a lesson Rick Castle was quickly learning.

Under the bright lights of the interview room, he was better able to study Kate. She looked much the same as before, though she wore her hair a little shorter again now. Her ring finger was still blessedly free of a wedding band, but it was her eyes that had changed the most. Brown orbs that had once danced with joy and fire as she teased him, were now hardened and narrowed in his direction. It was hard for him to hold her gaze.

"You really think I was involved in this? Really? You've read my books, you really think this is my style?"

"I don't know what your style is anymore, Castle; I don't even know what you're capable of these days."

"Kate," Her words stung but it was the tone she used that hurt him the most. She sounded so different from the Kate Beckett who had been his partner and muse.

"While you're in here, it's Detective Beckett, Mr Castle."

He shrugged, realising he wasn't going to get anywhere with her. Three years seemed to have broken what they had once had into jagged pieces that were just not going to fit back together like they used to.

"What were you doing at the book store?"

"A book signing. My newest book 'Starr Struck' has just been released."

"I know that. What were you doing in the supply room where Andrew's body was found?"

"I was preparing for the book signing when I heard a scream, so I went to investigate. That's when I found Ellie and the body."

"And why didn't you call 911?" She asked.

"I was; I was going to when you and Ryan showed up."

Kate frowned, leaning in close to that their noses were almost touching. He recognised this as one of her trademark interrogation techniques. As much of a turn on as it was, he wasn't all that keen on being on the receiving end of her wrath.

"So you went to investigate a scream but the police had already been called? Something is missing here, Castle. The timeline is off."

"And you still think I had something to do with it? Why would I sabotage my own book signing? I'm missing it now and disappointing hundreds of fans!"

"Well, you know what they say. There's no such thing as bad publicity."

"Kate, a man is dead. I wouldn't use that to sell my books. Surely you can't think that badly of me."

She had to admit that he was right. He may have hurt her but it didn't mean that he was a bad man. "I don't know, Castle. What would be better than having Nikki Heat investigating a crime at the signing of your new book?" She paused, gripped by curiosity. "And what about this Amber Starr?"

Seeing that Kate finally believed him, though he was convinced she had never really suspected him, he allowed himself a small smile.

"What about Amber?"

"Could she have been responsible for this? Perhaps she didn't like being your 'muse'. Also, Amber Starr sounds more like a stripper name than Nikki Heat."

Castle's smile widened. "You haven't read Star Crossed then?"

Kate shook her head. Richard Castle had been her favourite author but she hadn't read any of his books since the final Nikki Heat novel had been published.

"I'm hurt, Kate. I'll get a copy to you, signed of course."

"You didn't answer my question," She said coldly, realising that she had let the interview slip away from her. Damn him and the affect he still had on her. She thought she had moved passed all of that but just spending a few minutes in his presence and here she was falling for him all over again.

"Are you jealous, Katherine? Jealous that I've got a new inspiration for my novels?"

She knew better than to tell him not to call her Katherine.

"I'm trying to do my job."

"You want to know who Amber Starr is?" Kate nodded, waiting to find out it was his new girlfriend or, worst of all, that Gina had somehow become a muse after all those years."

"Alexis."

"What!" Beckett choked, not having expected this at all.

"Alexis didn't get mentioned in the Nikki Heat series because she was too young, but when she started telling me about her criminology course at Stanford, I just had to write Star Crossed. I hadn't felt inspiration like that since I first met you and Nikki Heat was created." His eyes drilled into her's.

Knowing this wasn't the right time or the right place, she still asked. "Why did you stop writing about Nikki?"

"I couldn't very well write about her without my muse for inspiration now, could I?" His gaze still hadn't moved from her's.

"You did almost four years of research!" She protested. "Surely that was more than enough time."

It was Castle who broke eye contact, even though it was he who had initiated it. "Writing about Nikki without you in my life was too difficult. The words just didn't come out right anymore. I thought about killing her off, like I did with Derrick Storm, but I guess I was always waiting for a chance to work with you again."

Kate was speechless, knowing she would have a lot to think about later. She realised she had to get this interview back on track, although they both knew it was pointless.


	3. Infatuated

**Inspire**  
><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

_Thanks for the reviews, you guys are truly awesome. I hope you like this chapter. I'll try to update this and 'The Start of Us' soon._

_Reviews, as always, are loved. Xx_

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><p>After five more minutes in the interview room without gleaning anything useful, except that Richard Castle was innocent of this crime, Kate let him go. She was frustrated both with the case and with herself. She didn't seem to be able to forget the things he had said to her or the look in those intensely blue eyes of his. She didn't know which version of him to believe in; the one who told her that writing about Nikki Heat without her was too painful or the one who had broken her heart three years ago. She was beginning to wonder, for the very first time, if perhaps it was her who had ruined their partnership by misinterpreting the evidence. It was a realisation that shocked her. Had she been falsely accusing Castle for all this time when he was actually innocent?<p>

A headache was beginning to pound at her temples and she wished she had called in sick today. Anything to have avoiding coming face to face with Rick Castle and their past all over again.

"Hey Esposito." Castle smiled, spotting his old friend who was checking emails at her desk. The writer looked down to whether Javier's hands were spread out on the keyboard. No wedding ring. Damn, he thought, maybe he had been wrong about Esposito and Lanie, and he felt disappointment bear down on him.

"Yo Castle, what are you doing here?" Esposito looked surprised to see him but not displeased. That made a change today.

"Helping out." Castle winked, then remembered Andrew's immobile features and Ellie heartbreaking screams and tears. Guilt followed, sobering his expression.

Esposito nodded. "We've missed you, bro. How's everything?"

Castle shrugged a shoulder, not entirely sure of his answer. Seeing Beckett again had turned everything on its head.

"What about you?"

"I got married." He beamed.

Castle grinned, hope flaring that his previous theory might be right after all.

"You did?" He asked giddily.

"Yeah, Lanie and I were on vacation in Las Vegas and we thought 'what the hell'." Esposito's smile turned to a look of surprise as Castle enveloped him in a constricting bear hug. "Uh, thanks man."

"Why aren't you wearing a ring though?" Castle asked, releasing Esposito was beginning to struggle to breathe.

"Undercover assignment, bro."

Castle nodded, about to ask him what he was working on but Kate, trying to hide an amused look at the exchange, approached him with her keys in her hands.

"Come on Castle, let's take you home."

"See ya, bro." Esposito said, giving Castle a wink.

Kate led the way out of the bullpen towards the elevator. As they descended to the ground floor, it felt like the years they had spent apart were melting away.

"Do you still live at the same place?" She asked.

"Can't you take me back to the book store? I don't want to disappoint my legions of loyal fans." From anyone else's mouth it would have sounded pompous and big headed but Kate found herself chuckling.

"No," She replied, becoming serious again. "CSU are still processing the scene and the book store is closed for business for now."

"Oh." They drove on in silence, neither of them knowing quite what to say.

"Well, here we are." She said, pulling to stop outside Castle's apartment building. She tried to hide how much she didn't want to say goodbye to him again.

"Come on up." He said, feeling the same way. "I've got copies of Starr Struck and Starr Crossed around. I want you to have them."

"Um, thanks." Kate replied, nervous about being alone in his home with him. She seemed to have forgiven him without even noticing it happening. She was angrier with herself than with him. Reluctantly, she followed him up to his apartment which looked just the same as always.

"Detective Beckett!" Martha Rodgers all but squealed when she and Rick crossed the threshold.

"Hello Martha." She smiled, quite pleased that they had a chaperone. Rick Castle was the only man she felt out of control around.

"It's good to see you, Kate. Have you been keeping well? Alexis and I have missed seeing you."

Kate smiled. "Yes, thanks. I've missed you, too."

Castle sent his mother a pointed look, and Martha excused herself. They went through to Castle's study where he picked up a copy of each of his newest books.

"Thank you." She said, accepting the novels. Perhaps reading them would distract her from thinking of him for a while. She doubted it though.

"Let me know what you think of them. And who killed Andrew at the book store." He hoped they both sounded like legitimate reasons to see her again. She turned to go.

"Kate." She turned around again and he cupped her face in his hands, kissing her long and slow. Finally, she dragged herself away.

"I'll call you." She said, before hastily exiting the apartment.

In the elevator she opened the copy of Starr Struck to the dedication page and smiled. 'Dedicated to Kate Beckett for teaching me all I know about policing. And love."


End file.
